Infant carriers are well-known and used to easily carry an infant from place-to-place as well as for seating an infant for feeding, sleeping, or playing. These carriers generally comprise a plastic shell with a seating surface, sides, an adjustable carry handle, rocker shaped bottom runners, a restraint harness, and a pad.
Infant carriers are often used as infant car seats either by themselves or with the addition of a base. If the carriers are used as a car seat by themselves, they have hooks of some kind which can be used to secure them to an automobile by means of the automobile seat belt. If they are used with a base, the base has a somewhat torso-shaped contour over which an automobile seatbelt is passed to secure the base in the automobile. The carrier is then removably secured to the base in some way.
Infant car seats have progressed over the years. The first infant car seat was little more than a double-walled plastic dish pan (the GM Loveseat™ ). Evenflo Company, Inc. advanced the state-of-the-art with a lightweight infant car seat with an adjustable angle (the Dyn-o-mite™). Century followed with an infant car seat with a carry handle and stay-in-the-car base (the Century 580™). Other manufacturers have also added improvements as they introduced new models. The various seats have provided good protection in transporting children in automobiles as well as good function as infant carriers.
Infant seat carry handles have also progressed. Many means of adjustment of the carry handle angle have been developed and carry handles have been made in many configurations. The earliest handles were shown on the Infanseat brand infant carrier and were a simple wire frame with a molded plastic handle—much like a bucket bail or handle. Handles later became molded plastic with molded-in grips and appear in many configurations.
Carrying an infant in an infant seat is not as easy as one might expect The infant can weigh up to twenty pounds—or even more. The carrier itself adds some weight and when the carrier is robust enough to be used as an infant car seat, the added weight of the carrier itself can be several pounds A mother may not be overly strong, may also be carrying additional items such as groceries, and/or may need to be, say, opening a car door at the same time she is carrying the seat and infant and it may be raining or cold. In addition, the mother (or father) wants to carry the infant as securely as possible without excessive motion or swinging.
Manufacturers have tried many variations in handle shape to make carrying easier. Evenflo introduced a “Z” shaped handle in which the central grip is parallel to the child's torso, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. D536,908. Dorel Juvenile Group, through its Cosco brand, introduced a rotating handle intended to let the consumer choose the best angle for themselves. Other manufacturers have introduced additional variations from bifurcated to “W”-shaped handles, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,658,044.
Despite many advances, infant seat carry handles are not perfected and are not as obvious in their use, as easy to use, as comfortable, or as enjoyable to use as they could be.
This invention continues the advancement of infant seat carry handles by making their use more obvious, easier, more comfortable, and more enjoyable in carrying an infant. It further provides a prominent display area for a child's or family photo for identification and/or important information such as emergency phone numbers or medical information.